inspired to make every day, life + work stellar

Valentine’s Day is almost here! Valentine’s is one of my favorite holidays {because the stores are filled with cute heart products plus it’s a day to commemorate those who mean the world to you). I love to share this day with my loved ones whether it’s with the bf, family or friends. Plus, my baby brother’s birthday is also on Valentine’s Day too, so it’s an extra special day!

Today, I’m sharing a recipe that you can make for your sweetheart or loved ones. This Italian raspberry + nutella linzer almond heart sandwich cookie recipe, adapted from Real Simple is a winner. The cookies are too cute + yummy!

INGREDIENTS

• 2/3 cup almonds
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup {2 sticks} unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• confectioners’ sugar
• jar of raspberry jam
• jar of nutella {chocolate hazelnut spread}

PREP THE ALMOND MIXTURE

1// Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place almonds on a baking pan and toast for 6-8 minutes. Let the almonds cool down.
2// In a food processor, add the toasted almonds and brown sugar. Process until the almonds are finely ground.

PREPARE THE COOKIE DOUGH

1// In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.
2// In a separate bowl, beat the butter and white sugar on medium-high speed with an electric mixer. Mix until it’s fluffy {2-4 minutes}. Then beat in the egg and vanilla. Reduce the speed to low and gradually add the almond mixture and flour mixer. Mix until all of it’s combined {should be a doughy texture}.
3// Divide the dough in half and shape them into a ball. Put the dough in a ziploc bag {or plastic wrap} and refrigerate until firm {1-3 hours}.

BAKE THE COOKIES

1// Heat oven to 350 degrees. Sprinkle some flour on your surface {I laid out a large piece of parchment paper} and roll out each piece of dough to about 1/8 inch thickness. Use a 2-1/2 wide heart cookie cutter, cut the dough into heart shapes. Then use a 1-1/4 wide heart cookie cutter to cut the centers {this will be the top layer of the cookie}. I baked the mini inside hearts too {or you can reroll the scraps to make hearts for your cookies}.
2// Bake for 10-12 minutes until the edges are golden. Let it cool before you start frosting the first layer.

SANDWICH THE COOKIES

1// Sprinkle the confectioners’s sugar on the cookies with the holes + mini hearts if you decided to bake them {use a mesh strainer to dust the powdered sugar onto the cookies}
2// Spread a layer of raspberry jam or nutella on the remaining cookies {the ones without the holes} and top with the sugared cookies to make a sandwich.

And there you have it; cute heart-shaped raspberry + nutella linzer almond cookies. Happy baking!

{Photos by Tiffany Nguyen}

During the week, I typically make one meat {either chicken or fish} dish + steam a bunch of veges and eat the same thing every day for lunch + dinner. It does get repetitive but I have trained myself for a year to eat the same thing over and over again {it’s not so bad!}. The reason why I eat the same thing repetitively because 1// I was training for awhile with Fit180 and part of my healthy lifestyle plan was that I had to eat better, healthier foods so that meant, I had to cook most of my meals. I cooked in bulk so that I only had to do most of the prep and cleaning only once a week 2// I like to eat healthier during the week and to do that, I have to plan out my meals and 3// I’m always on the go so I don’t have a lot of time to cook often. If I give myself a slight chance to think about what I want to eat for lunch/dinner, that’s when I get side tracked and start eating really bad food like fast food {which is something I try to stay away from!}.

Well friends, I would like to share this delicious baked salmon recipe! It’s sooo easy + quick to make!

INGREDIENTS

• 4-6 salmon fillets
• 2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoon pure honey
• 1/2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 – 1/2 cup of chopped shallots {there’s really no limit here!}
• 1/8 teaspoon himalayan pink salt {or regular salt}
• 1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon lemon & pepper seasoning
• 1/4 – 1/2 cup of chopped chive {optional}

PREP + COOK

1// Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2// Chop the shallots {and chive} and add all the ingredients in a bowl. Remember to wash and pat the salmon steaks dry. Add the salmon steaks to the glaze and make sure the glaze gets on all parts of the salmon steaks. Save the remaining glaze for later.
3// Set the salmon steaks on a baking tray
4// Once the oven reaches 400 degrees, start baking one side of the salmon steak for 10-12 minutes
5// Then flip the salmon steak, add the remaining glaze and cook the other side for another 10-12 minutes

The salmon is considered cook when the fish is flakey!

Accompany the baked salmon with a salad + steamed veges! And you’ve got yourself an awesome, healthy + delicious meal! Told you it was easy!

{Photos by Tiffany Nguyen}

It wasn’t until my trip to central Vietnam a few years ago that I really began to appreciate this complex mi quang dish. There are so many different components + ingredients to this specialty noodle dish including yellow turmeric noodles topped with a variety of fresh leafy herbs, lime juice, pork belly, shrimp, jelly fish, crushed peanuts, and black sesame crackers.

This noodle dish has a complex – is it a noodle soup or is it dry noodles? It’s different than most Vietnamese broth-based noodle soups like pho because the broth is poured only enough to slightly cover the noodles {in a way, the broth is more like a sauce}.

Here’s a recipe to making mi quang noodles:

STEP ONE // MAKE THE BROTH

Ingredients:

• 10 cups of water
• 2.5 lbs spare ribs {cut into riblets}
• 3 cloves of minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon {TB} minced shallots
• .5 TB olive oil
• pinch of salt

Wash the pork riblets thoroughly. Heat a soup pot on medium-high heat and add the olive oil, garlic and shallots and saute for 1 minute. Then add the spare ribs. After it starts browning, remove the pot away from the heat and add the 10 cups of water. Put the pot back on the burner and let it simmer for 1 hour on low heat.

STEP TWO // PREPARE + SAUTE THE PORK + SHRIMP

Ingredients:

• 1 lb shrimp {peel shell + devein}
• 1 lb pork belly {cut into thin slices}
• 3 TB annato seed oil*
• 2.5 TB fish sauce
• 1.5 TB paprika
• 3 TB sugar
• 2 TB minced shallots
• 1.5 TB minced garlic
• salt to taste
• pepper/peppercorn to taste

* To make annato seed oil, heat a small saucepan and add 1/4 cup olive oil and 2 tablespoon of annato seed over medium-high heat for 4-5 minutes until the oil turns into a deep red, orange color. Strain and discard the seed.

Pour the annato oil into a large frying pan and saute the shallots and garlic. Then add the pork belly and let it cook 3/4 way before adding the shrimp. Then add the rest of the ingredients: fish sauce, sugar, paprika, and add salt and pepper to taste {I like a lot of pepper}. Saute until the shrimp and pork are fully cooked.

STEP THREE // COMBINE THE BROTH + SAUCE FROM THE SAUTEED MEAT

This is not the traditional way of making the broth but I wanted my broth to be more flavorful than the traditional “nuoc leo” broth. So, I strained the sauteed meat and took the sauce from the sauteed meat and added it to the simmering broth. Stir the broth + sauce and taste it. If the broth is not flavorful enough, add a little bit more of fish sauce, salt, and/or sugar. Let the broth simmer for another 30 minutes on low heat.

STEP FOUR // COOK THE TURMERIC NOODLES

• 1 package of mi quang noodles
• 1 tsp olive oil

or make your own turmeric noodles

• 1 package of white pho wide noodles
• turmeric powder
• 1 tsp olive oil

You can either make your own turmeric noodles which essentially is pho noodles with turmeric powder. Just follow the directions on the packaging and then add turmeric {turmeric adds the yellow color but it doesn’t really have any flavor} and sprinkle some olive oil to keep the noodles from drying and the strands from sticking together.

Or you can go the easier route and buy packaged mi quang noodles. Just a word of caution, the noodles cook very fast, about 3-5 minutes so make sure you keep an eye on it. You don’t want your noodles too soft. Remember to sprinkle a bit of oil to keep the noodle strand from sticking together.

STEP FIVE // PREP THE TOPPINGS

Ingredients:

• variety of fresh mints found at Asian supermarkets
• bean sprouts
• lettuce
• chives
• banana blossom {peeled, remove the white flower between each leaf, then stack the purple layers and cut into thin strips. put the cut strips into a bowl of water with lime juice to prevent it from browning}
• cilantro {for garnishing}
• green onions {chopped}
• lime wedges
• roasted, crushed peanuts
• black sesame crackers {broken into big pieces}
• Vietnamese pork sausage {“cha”}
• red chili sauce
• jelly fish {found in the refrigerated area of the Asian supermarkets}

The Vietnamese pork sausages + jelly fish are already cooked so they don’t need to be sauteed with the meat.

I add a lot of veges to my bowl {it covers about 1/3 of the bowl}!

STEP FIVE // ASSEMBLE THE BOWL + EAT !

Now it’s time to layer your bowl! Start by adding some noodles to your bowl, pour the broth over the noodles {about 1/4 of the bowl}, and add some meat, a lot of veges, banana blossoms, and broken pieces of the rice crackers. Then sprinkle peanuts, cilantro, green onions and finish it off with lime juice. Add some chili sauce if you like your food spicy.

Boy, was that a lot of steps but it’s darn good + so worth it. This is a great special noodle dish to make over the weekend for your family + friends!

{on a side note: when it comes to Vietnamese cooking, my mom never writes down her recipes and there is never precise measurement. She just taste as she preps + cooks and I do the same when it comes to Vietnamese cooking. Some like it more salty, others like it sweeter. So during this process, when I was sauteing the meat, I’d taste the pork and if it was too salty, I’d add a little bit more sugar. If it was too sweet, I added a bit more of the fish sauce. Do the same with the broth. Remember to always taste your food before you serve it! Happy cooking!}